Dani Vivian Trains With The First Team As Yeray And Yuri Berchiche Miss Out

Athletic’s 1-0 win at Butarque on Wednesday night was massive. The Lions took a three-point lead over Alavés for 7th place in the La Liga table and saw the return of Oscar De Marcos who has been dealing with an injury. The injury bug has been disastrous for Athletic as of late and, even though De Marcos got back on the field, another player was lost.

Late in the second half, Yeray pushed the ball up the field and went down to the ground. He stayed down in pain as the medical team rushed out to him. Luckily, the defender was able to walk off under his own power but was constantly clutching at his right hamstring. Yeray has suffered a muscle injury though the extent hasn’t been shared. He will be unavailable for Saturday’s match against Alavés.

As expected, Yeray missed Thursday’s training session as did Yuri Berchiche. It’s become a common practice over the past month for Berchiche to be given rest days and that was the case once again according to sources. Ibai Gómez wasn’t seen at Lezama, but Dani García and Ander Capa did work apart from the group. Garitano revealed that all three are ahead of schedule in their respective recoveries, though none of them will return in time to play this weekend.

With Yeray unavailable, Unai Nuñez will take his place alongside Iñigo Martinez in the heart of the defense. Nuñez has performed very well under Garitano when given the chance and will be hoping to make the most of another opportunity. In the meantime, De Marcos could return to the starting lineup as well while Iñigo Lekue could also feature after two consecutive impressive performances.

Due to having so many injuries in the squad, Garitano called up Dani Vivian and Oihan Sancet to train with the first team on Thursday. Yeray’s absence could see Vivian included in the squad for Saturday’s match but that remains to be seen. Either way, Garitano will have to be wise with his selections as a win over Alavés could essentially seal a top 7 finish for Athletic this season.